1. E-Commerce: Mechanisms, Infrastructures, and Tools
Chapter 2
E-Commerce: Mechanisms, Infrastructures, and Tools

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Learning Objectives
Describe the major electronic commerce (EC) activities and processes and the mechanisms that support them.
Define e-marketplaces and list their components.
List the major types of e-marketplaces and describe their features.
Describe electronic catalogs, search engines, and shopping carts.
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3. Electronic Commerce Mechanisms: An Overview
EC ACTIVITIES AND SUPPORT MECHANISMS
EC activities are divided into six categories. Each activity is supported by one or more EC mechanisms, Additional mechanisms exist for special activities, such as payment, security, and order fulfillment. Also, standard IT technologies such as RFID, EDI.
SELLERS, BUYERS, AND TRANSACTIONS
The Purchasing Process
ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE
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E-Marketplaces
e-marketplace
An online market, usually B2B, in which buyers and sellers exchange goods or services; the three types of e-marketplaces are private, public, and consortia
COMPONENTS OF AND THE PARTICIPANTS IN E-MARKETPLACES
marketspace
A marketplace in which sellers and buyers exchange goods and services for money (or for other goods and services), but do so electronically
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E-Marketplaces
The major components and players in a marketspace are:
Customers
Sellers
Products and services
digital products
Goods that can be transformed to digital format and delivered over the Internet
Infrastructure
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E-Marketplaces
front end
The portion of an e-seller’s business processes through which customers interact, including the seller’s portal, electronic catalogs, a shopping cart, a search engine, and a payment gateway
back end
The activities that support online order fulfillment, inventory management, purchasing from suppliers, payment processing, packaging, and delivery
intermediary
A third party that operates between sellers and buyers
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E-Marketplaces
DISINTERMEDIATION AND REINTERMEDIATION
disintermediation
Elimination of intermediaries between sellers and buyers
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E-Marketplaces
TYPES OF E-MARKETPLACES
sell-side e-marketplace
A private e-marketplace in which one company sells either standard and/or customized products to qualified companies. cisco.com
buy-side e-marketplace
A private e-marketplace in which one company makes purchases from invited suppliers
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12. Customer Shopping Mechanisms: Storefronts, Malls, and Portals
Webstore (storefront)
A single company’s website where products or services are sold; usually has an online shopping cart associated with it
Many Webstores target a specific industry and find their own unique corner of the market.
Microsites A microsite is a webpage(s) that acts as a supplement to a primary website, but is external to it. It expands on the content by adding editorial, commercial, or educational material.
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13. Customer Shopping Mechanisms: Storefronts, Malls, and Portals
e-mall (online mall)
An online shopping center where many online stores are located
TYPES OF STORES AND MALLS
General stores/malls
Specialized stores/malls
Regional versus global stores
Pure-play versus click-and-mortar stores
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14. Customer Shopping Mechanisms: Storefronts, Malls, and Portals
Web (information) portal
A single point of access, through a Web browser, to critical business information located inside and outside (via Internet) an organization
Types of Portals
Commercial (public) portals yahoo.com, google.com, and msn.com.
Corporate portals
Publishing portals techweb.com
Personal portals
mobile portal
A portal accessible via a mobile device.
voice portal
A portal accessed by telephone or cell phone. AOLbyPhone (aolbyphone. com)
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16. Customer Shopping Mechanisms: Storefronts, Malls, and Portals
THE ROLES AND VALUE OF INTERMEDIARIES IN E-MARKETPLACES
Brokers a person or a company that facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers.
infomediaries
Electronic intermediaries that provide and/or control information flow in cyberspace, often aggregating information and selling it to others
e-distributor
An e-commerce intermediary that connects manufacturers with business buyers (customers) by aggregating the catalogs of many manufacturers in one place—the intermediary’s website
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Merchant Solutions: Electronic Catalogs, Search Engines, and Shopping Carts
electronic catalogs (e-catalogs)
The presentation of product information in an electronic form; the backbone of most e-selling sites
Online Catalogs Versus Paper Catalogs
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Merchant Solutions: Electronic Catalogs, Search Engines, and Shopping Carts
EC SEARCH ACTIVITIES, TYPES, AND ENGINES
Types of EC Searches
Internet/Web Search
enterprise search
The practice of identifying and enabling specific content across the enterprise to be indexed, searched, and displayed to authorized users
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Merchant Solutions: Electronic Catalogs, Search Engines, and Shopping Carts
desktop search
Search tools that search the contents of a user’s or organization’s computer files, rather than searching the Internet
The emphasis is on finding all the information that is available on the user’s PC, including Web browser histories, archives, and word-processed documents, as well as in all internal files and databases.
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Merchant Solutions: Electronic Catalogs, Search Engines, and Shopping Carts
search engine
A computer program that can access databases of Internet resources, search for specific information or key words, and report the results
Software (Intelligent) Agents
Questions and Answers Online
Voice-Powered Search
Visual Shopping Search Engine
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Merchant Solutions: Electronic Catalogs, Search Engines, and Shopping Carts
electronic shopping cart
An order-processing technology that allows customers to accumulate items they wish to buy while they continue to shop
OTHER MECHANISMS IN MERCHANT SOFTWARE
Other Shopping Engines
Product Configuration the ability to self-customize products and services, as done by dell.com, nike.com, or jaguarusa.com.
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Summary
Activities and mechanisms
E-marketplaces and their components
The major types of e-marketplaces
Electronic catalogs, search engines, and shopping carts
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